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Rodrigo Chousal
16,009 PointsMemory allocation and initialisation of objects
When you initialise for example an array, I would write:
NSArray *something = [[NSArray alloc] init]; Is memory already allocated when I write this? Or does the compiler wait until I store something in the variable?
3 Answers
Ryan Ackermann
14,665 PointsWhen you allocate any variable type, NSArray in your example, the memory address is reserved for the variable. So when you alloc init the NSArray your basically storing the memory address away, this is the same as declaring an array like NSArray *something = @[@"one", @"two", @"three"];
Hope this helps!
Uwe Hebbelmann
4,094 Points[[NSArray alloc] init] only allocates memory for an empty address. NSArray is not mutable. Therefore the memory allocation never changes afterwards.
Rodrigo Chousal
16,009 PointsBasically, my question is: Does NSArray and other container classes have a limited amount of storage in the point of initialisation?
Rodrigo Chousal
16,009 PointsRodrigo Chousal
16,009 PointsThanks! But if allocating and initialising is the same as already storing values, does this mean that there is a limited amount of storage space for an NSArray variable?
Ryan Ackermann
14,665 PointsRyan Ackermann
14,665 PointsWell in programming arrays are have a static capacity, meaning when they are declared with a capacity, that cannot be changed. So allocating and initializing an NSArray only reserves the memory address for the declaration of its capacity later in code. An NSMutableArray however can have its capacity changed and contents modified throughout its lifecycle, Apple's documentation on each should clarify and misunderstandings of the differences:
NSArray
NSMutableArray
Have a great day!